President of the Nigerian Council of Registered Insurance Brokers (NCRIB), Kayode Okunoren, who is stepping aside as the president of the body has said that various forms of levies and penalties on insurance brokers hugely affected their performances in the last two years.
Okunoren made this known during his Valedictory Press briefing at the NCRIB House, Yaba, Lagos.
He said the Council, under his tenure, was able to seek concession for members with the regulatory authorities, especially NAICOM and the Financial Reporting Council (FRC) through constructive dialogue.
He said they have surmounted almost all the obstacles and further positioned the Council on a pedestal of greater respect and reckoning in the comity of other professionals in Nigeria.
He said: “Although it was not a bed of roses, yet the Council recorded some modest feats in the last two years. We were able to also add value to members. It is a pride for any member to belong to the NCRIB, because of the added value members are getting from the Council. Through this value addition we have been able to douse the negative views and a flurry of ill feelings that were the lot of many members about two years ago. We have given value in terms of training and information sharing, leading to facilitation of business through public bids.
“We have further the frontiers of relationships with international insurance bodies, especially BIBA and the African Insurance Forum (AIF) with the consequential benefits in form of better training and exposure for members. We have realized that for the industry to continue to be relevant, its members must continually learn and unlearn and have the required exposure to deliver value to their clients.
“Our image has also been boosted with our corporate visibility project during the period. We realized the need to inch up the image of brokers and pull down several noxious beliefs about their practice. Today, the corporate visibility project has been warmly received by all members and through it the corporate reputation of the Council and its members have been improved significantly”, he added.